Tag: sermon

“It’s not about the money; it’s about our relationship with God”

On Sunday, I preached on the Parable of the Talents, which is about our relationship with God. At some point during the Thanksgiving holiday, I invite you to reflect on the following three points of that relationship:

Receive with joy and gratitude the gifts God gives you.

Use them enthusiastically in service of others and all of God’s Creation.

As I write this Monday morning, I am still buoyed by Sunday’s church picnic at Jimmy’s and Gina’s. It was good for my heart to see well over 100 parishioners, new and established of all ages, there to enjoy a beautiful day, to celebrate their connection to Saint James’, and to show their appreciation and affection for Gina.

While pleasantly distracted, much of me feels compelled to use this medium to express my heartache, solidarity, and prayers for the victims of Hurricane Harvey and to discuss the divisive events that unfolded two weeks earlier in Charlottesville. In fact, many times on Sunday, I was struck with the difficult dichotomy between the absolutely perfect weather and beautiful bucolic setting in Virginia and the grey skies, torrential rains, downed limbs and power lines, and rising waters in Texas.

Below you will find photos and video of each service in Holy Week, and Scripture readings for each day of the week. We know that Holy Week can be an overwhelming time, with so many services and so many stories packed into such a short time. We hope that you will reflect on each day, and the power of each moment, at your own pace.

As your children learn about Advent and the story of Jesus’ birth in Sunday School this season, we encourage you to continue the conversation at home. Each week, we will provide you with the reading done in church for the lighting of our Advent Candles and questions that can be used to discuss them. You can use them as you light your own candles or simply as a conversation-starter.

On Sunday, Fr. Ben talked about how the lectionary tied together to tell us about Christ’s work in the work in the world in making God accessible to all people, everywhere, regardless of where they might have come from.